Dust mops have long been employed as an effective and efficient cleaning tool. One type of commonly used dust mop comprises a base member with cotton, cloth, yarn, or similarly fabricated cleaning strands connected to a base member. One such common dust mop is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,663.
Recently, dust mops having solid cleaning head members with disposable cleaning sheets attached have become popular. These sheets are made from a variety of materials, ranging from simple cotton cloth which, when damp or containing dust spray, attracts dust, to sheets made of nonwoven synthetic cloth type material which generate a minimal electrostatic charge. The static charge in this material serves to attract and accumulate dust efficiently from dry surfaces. When such cleaning sheets are completely loaded with accumulated dust, the sheets can be washed or reused, but most conveniently, they are simply removed from the mop head, discarded, and the mop replaced with a fresh sheet. An example of the use of disposable cleaning sheets on solid mop heads is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,239.
Such cleaning tools are effective in removing dust and light dirt. However, the ridgity of the head members to which these sheets are attached sometimes make it difficult to reach dirt in comers, on ledges, and other areas where dirt may accumulate and where access is limited. The present invention provides a solution to this problem.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a dust mop which overcomes the limitations and disadvantages of prior devices.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible dust mop which is to be used with disposable cleaning sheets.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flexible dust mop with easy and efficient means to removably attach cleaning sheets.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a flexible dust mop which provides the option of a flexible dusting surface which employs the use of cleaning strands or a flexible dusting surface using disposable cleaning sheets.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mop which is flexible enough to be used to clean dirt from soiled corners, ledges, and other areas which are not readily accessible.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dust mop which is flexible and, through the use of biasing means, resilient enough to maintain the mop in a flat configuration.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flexible dust mop with an integral base of unibody configuration, which is simple and economical to manufacture.
These and other objects are accomplished by the present invention which comprises a dust mop with a handle connected to a flexible base member of unibody configuration. The base member has a flexibly resilient top wall and flexibly resilient side and end walls. Cleaning strands of cloth or like material are attached to and extend from the base member. The top wall of the base member comprises an integrally molded spring which maintains the base member in a flat configuration. The cloth strands can be used for cleaning dust or other accumulated dirt or a disposable cleaning sheet can be wrapped around the cleaning strands and retained in position over the strands and the base member by resilient biased members integrally molded from the top wall.
The novel features which are considered as being characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The flexible dust mop itself, however, both as to its design, construction, and use, together with addition features and advantages thereof, are best understood upon a review of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.